Hello friends! Spring is almost sprung, and the Easter season of renewal is most definitely upon us. And I’m dying to hear from you about something.
Change is an odd thing. In the fall, we often dread the darkness of winter. As spring approaches, we gratefully anticipate the longer days and the increase in light. Or we don’t. There is actually a spring/summer version of SAD wherein sufferers feel overwhelmed and anxious about all of the “mores:” more awake time, more noise, more people, etc.
Either way, a change of seasons is a change. And if any readers remember the original spirit of this blog, it was really about YOU, and connecting readers with other readers. So this short post is about a question: do you think intentional change is real?
Meaning, can we really make true changes in our lives? If you would answer, “yes,” I’d love for you to you to share an example. And perhaps, if there is a change you’d like to make in your life, it would be wonderful if you could share how you plan ro approach that.
Is it a diet? A plan to run a 5k or a marathon? A desire to become sober, more tolerant with a partner, more hopeful about a health struggle, a plan for retirement?
As always, thank you for reading. And below is an exquisite poem by Denise Levertov about our potential, and, more importantly, our sources of support for change and power-filled growth. “What I heard was my whole self saying and singing what I knew: I can.”
Yes, you can. The ringing bell in this poem is your awakened voice and your true intentions. And we want to hear about it!
All love,
Leslie
Variation on a Theme by Rilke
A certain day became a presence to me;
there it was, confronting me–a sky, air, light:
a being. And before it started to descend
from the height of noon, it leaned over
and struck my shoulder as if with
the flat of a sword, granting me
honor and a task, The day’s blow
rang out, metallic–or it was I, a bell awakened,
and what I heard was my whole self
saying and singing what it knew: I can.
Levertov, Denise, Breathing the Water (New York, NY: New Directions Publishing Corp., 1987) p. 3.
from the heart 
I love your posts, and want to shout a resounding “yes”, it’s possible to make intentional change. In fact, I need to believe that. I feel as though I am at a crossroads with my health and intentional change is the only path to a better, longer lasting me. I don’t believe that intentional change is easy, nor is it able to be accomplished without the appropriate support systems in place. But I do believe that the foundation of success in intentional change is solely based in one simple truth – I WANT that change.
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Thank you so much for sharing this, Erin. I believe that with you: that wanting change is the true foundation. All love and strongest wishes for strength and resilience!
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A resounding YES to your question! While pondering a reply I read one simple but poignant sentence from a daily meditation today: “Only vulnerable people change.” Vulnerability, feeling safe enough to trust, holds an enormous amount of ambivalence for me. It’s a tug-of-war between longing and fear. There are several things I could put on my “change” list, but being vulnerable, allowing trust is the one that will affect so many other areas of my life. I believe I need to begin with trusting myself more by believing that I’m “enough”, following my gut and listening more intentionally to my intuition.
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Dearest and most resilient Terri, thank you for sharing! I love the connection you’ve made between change and vulnerability. It’s very rich. Have you considered joining in the “Writing as a Catalyst for Change” group??
Change does take so much vulnerability, and your reminder is so important. It’s really not about willpower at all, is it?
Thank you so much for your input.
Much love,
Leslie
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